Thread-lasted shoes of this type are known under the name Gunther System. According to this shoe manufacturing process, the upper is stitched to a sole provided with previously produced stitching holes and the shoe is then shaped on a last in a few minutes after having previously been made supple with steam or hot water. The advantage of this process compared with earlier processes is that processing machines for the bottom of the shoe are not required. It is even possible to stitch together the upper and the sole on an out-work basis because, apart from a needle, no tools or machines are required. Compared with the also cheap to manufacture glued shoes those produced according to the Gunther System have the advantage of being harder wearing. They also have the advantage that the suppleness and porosity of the upper is not lost owing to the adhesive.
A shoe manufactured according to the Gunther System is for example described in German Gebrauchsmuster No. 78 03 394. In addition to the simple assembly of the upper on the sole, this shoe has the advantage that it is substantially water-tight owing to the border which passes round the inside and can therefore be considered as an allweather shoe. However, because of the seam which passes round the outside of the upper, it necessarily has the somewhat sporty appearance of a welted shoe, which is not always desired. This sporty appearance can be prevented by having the seam at right angles to the shoe sole plane. However, this would have the disadvantage that water could easily pass through the stitching holes into the inside of the shoe, so that the latter would no longer be suitable as an all-weather shoe.